Bus tours celebrate 100 years of Ringling

Published: Friday, November 16, 2012 at 5:17 p.m.

Last Modified: Friday, November 16, 2012 at 5:17 p.m.

Yes, they built fabulous mansions on Sarasota Bay, and yes, one of them built a fabulous art museum.

But when the Ringling brothers, John and Charles, came to Sarasota as visitors 100 years ago, what they really were about to do was profoundly influence the region's real estate development.

From St. Armands Circle (John) to Ringling Park (Charles), and alongside Owen Burns, the Ringling brothers ushered in a new era of Sarasota development and shaped the city's modern form.

On Sunday, the Sarasota Alliance for Historic Preservation will present bus tours of buildings and developments built by John and Charles Ringling. The tours will be led by Ron McCarty, curator of Cą d'Zan, the John and Mable Ringling mansion.

The tour bus will depart at 10 a.m. and again at 1:30 p.m. Participants will learn about the Ringlings' history and contributions to Sarasota from the real estate perspective of Ringling-era buildings and sites throughout Sarasota.

Television monitors aboard the bus will present a slideshow of archival images during the tour. At several stops, tour-goers will depart the bus for brief walking tours of the buildings and sites.

Tour stops include the Charles and Hester Ringling mansions, now College and Cook halls, respectively, on the New College of Florida's Bayfront Campus. Tour-goers will see the inside of these mansions and hear about the lives of the people who lived in them. The tour will continue onto the New College bayfront, recently restored to its Ringling-era glory, and the grounds of Cą d'Zan next door.

Other stops:

-The Bay Haven Hotel, now the Keating Center, on the Ringling College of Art and Design campus.

-The Belle Haven Apartments. Guests will view archival images of the Broadway development, which included the El Vernona Hotel (later the John Ringling Towers) and the Burns Realty complex, which housed offices for John Ringling, Owen Burns and architect Dwight James Baum.

-St. Armands Circle, where John Ringling's Ringling Isle office was located, and Longboat Key, where his never-completed Ritz-Carlton Hotel once stood.

-Charles Ringling-developed sites in downtown Sarasota, such as the County Courthouse and the Terrace Hotel (now the county Administration Building).

-The bus will return to the Ringling Museum parking lot, and guests will learn about the construction of the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, and view rarely seen archival images.

Cost for the two-hour tour is $20 per person. Parking is in the Ringling Museum/Asolo Rep Theater parking lot, starting point of the tour. Check-ins begin at 9:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. Reservations: 953-8727, or email sahp.mailbox@gmail.com.

<p>Yes, they built fabulous mansions on Sarasota Bay, and yes, one of them built a fabulous art museum.</p><p>But when the Ringling brothers, John and Charles, came to Sarasota as visitors 100 years ago, what they really were about to do was profoundly influence the region's real estate development.</p><p>From St. Armands Circle (John) to Ringling Park (Charles), and alongside Owen Burns, the Ringling brothers ushered in a new era of Sarasota development and shaped the city's modern form.</p><p>On Sunday, the Sarasota Alliance for Historic Preservation will present bus tours of buildings and developments built by John and Charles Ringling. The tours will be led by Ron McCarty, curator of Cą d'Zan, the John and Mable Ringling mansion.</p><p>The tour bus will depart at 10 a.m. and again at 1:30 p.m. Participants will learn about the Ringlings' history and contributions to Sarasota from the real estate perspective of Ringling-era buildings and sites throughout Sarasota.</p><p>Television monitors aboard the bus will present a slideshow of archival images during the tour. At several stops, tour-goers will depart the bus for brief walking tours of the buildings and sites.</p><p>Tour stops include the Charles and Hester Ringling mansions, now College and Cook halls, respectively, on the New College of Florida's Bayfront Campus. Tour-goers will see the inside of these mansions and hear about the lives of the people who lived in them. The tour will continue onto the New College bayfront, recently restored to its Ringling-era glory, and the grounds of Cą d'Zan next door.</p><p>Other stops:</p><p>-The Bay Haven Hotel, now the Keating Center, on the Ringling College of Art and Design campus.</p><p>-The Belle Haven Apartments. Guests will view archival images of the Broadway development, which included the El Vernona Hotel (later the John Ringling Towers) and the Burns Realty complex, which housed offices for John Ringling, Owen Burns and architect Dwight James Baum.</p><p>-Bird Key, where John Ringling's sister, Ida Ringling North, lived at New Edzell Castle. Arvida purchased the Ringling barrier-island holdings in 1959.</p><p>-St. Armands Circle, where John Ringling's Ringling Isle office was located, and Longboat Key, where his never-completed Ritz-Carlton Hotel once stood.</p><p>-Charles Ringling-developed sites in downtown Sarasota, such as the County Courthouse and the Terrace Hotel (now the county Administration Building).</p><p>-The bus will return to the Ringling Museum parking lot, and guests will learn about the construction of the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, and view rarely seen archival images.</p><p>Cost for the two-hour tour is $20 per person. Parking is in the Ringling Museum/Asolo Rep Theater parking lot, starting point of the tour. Check-ins begin at 9:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. Reservations: 953-8727, or email sahp.mailbox@gmail.com.</p>